Central Arkansas’s Brandon Ruhl a pro at finding new uses for old gems.
By Becca Bona
Bringing neighborhoods to life requires the art of placemaking, a nuanced blend of creativity and collaboration. One of the biggest elements of getting this delicate balance just right includes working with an area’s existing assets, and no one knows this better than Pine Bluff native, Brandon Ruhl.
A managing partner and architect at TAGGART in Argenta, Ruhl has worked on many adaptive reuse projects throughout his 14-year career.
His path to the profession stemmed out of a high school drafting class. By senior year, he turned his knowledge into a side hustle. “I thought it was so cool to get paid to draw things,” he said.
Ruhl eventually enrolled at the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design program. “Without [my wife’s] encouragement, then and now, I wouldn’t be the architect I am,” he said.
During school, Ruhl worked a brief stint at Lewis Architects and Engineers as an intern. Upon graduation he landed a job at TAGGART Architects, where he worked his way up to the leadership team. “It’s a really fun time to be here at TAGGART,” he said. “We’re celebrating 50 years this year.”
Ruhl credits his expertise on adaptive reuse on the work he received when he started at TAGGART. “There was a pro bono project that was going to be complicated, and nobody else in the office wanted to do it,” he said. “I’m not one to back away from challenges.”
The project involved the century-old building located on 204 E. 4th Street. The structure came with load-bearing masonry walls, wood-framed columns and roof trusses. At the time, there was a philanthropic movement with the goal of economic retention in downtown North Little Rock. The original concept focused on providing an art gallery and space specifically to better serve under-resourced students in the area.
“It was all about making the place for these kids,” Ruhl said. After the project was complete, there was more talk about putting a makerspace and co-working space all together under one roof. The Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub was born, and the project went from pro bono to funded and phased with multiple different agencies from the federal to local level.
“It was a really interesting project to cut my teeth on, being a 100-year-old adaptive reuse building,” Ruhl reflected. “It’s also kind of been part of the catalyst for a lot of what’s happened in Argenta.”
Immediately after that, Ruhl was tasked with working on a project at UA Little Rock, adapting an existing building to house the nursing program. “Those projects helped me hone my skill in adaptive reuse,” he said.
Some of Ruhl’s favorite projects include reworking a ‘70s automotive warehouse into the sleek, modern EagleRock Realty & Property Management in Conway. The final product is both inviting and cozy, but modern and sleek. He also worked on the Lenderman Dental Clinic, Chi Alpha Missions Training Center at UCA, and MSA Customs — all in Conway.
A lot of Conway’s momentum, he said, is due to an investment in infrastructure improvements. “The planners let us know that at some point, they wanted to widen the Donaghey Corridor, with nice wide sidewalks and buildings pushed up to the street to create more of an urban transitional corridor,” he said.
Ruhl has seen similar energy in Argenta. “Other private investors noticed that there was a lot going on,” he said. “Private investment flourishes, and then that leads to more organic growth.”
From a financial standpoint, COVID was a catalyst for individuals to purchase existing buildings, rather than build anew, but the trend hasn’t wavered. “I definitely think that renovations and additions are going to continue to be on an upward trend, as real estate and land values continue to increase,” he said.
Ruhl believes that every community can create its own magnetic identity, but that it takes a village. “I believe it needs to come from the top-down. We need all of our city officials to be on board and for them to collectively have the vision,” he said.
Nevertheless, design is an integral part of the process.
“Architecture has the amazing ability to positively impact a community,” Ruhl said. “It all seems to naturally snowball when you have both public and private philanthropy involved. The next thing you know, an underserved area begins to flourish and thrive, simply because people want to be there, and contribute to what is happening.”
In his spare time, Ruhl enjoys designing houses, which provides a break from his commercial work. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, on or around water.